FITTING IN

“...AND SHE SCREAMED so loud it woke up people across the river. And I’ve heard she’s screaming still—in the crazy house up in Chichester.”

Dylan smirked at the satisfied glee on Gary’s face. Dylan had heard the story before. He called it “The Hook Horror” when he told it, but he appreciated Gary’s twist about the girl being in the local loony bin, just over the state line in Chichester. It made the story more familiar, more real. He wanted to top Gary’s tale, and he knew just the one, one of his dad’s.

His dad wrote scary stories, and other ones about spaceships and magic. Normally, that would be awesome, but it also meant moving a lot, since paying the bills was tough when the stories did not sell.

This was their second move in a year, but Dylan understood the rules of being accepted into a new neighborhood. A quick game of catch or “showing brave” by ignoring Mom’s call for dinner was hardly enough. Only the scary stories clinched